Grant and Danny
Austin Ekeler Joins G&D To Discuss The 3-1 Start
When it comes to making plans, you are the best. What about those round trips, which are perfect on your way there and perfect on your way back? Or those meetings with friends, surprise parties, camps, birthdays... The same way you plan for the important moments, start planning to protect you and your loved ones from a natural disaster. Sign up for local weather and emergency alerts, prepare an emergency kit, and make a family communications plan. Get started at ready.gov/plan. Brought to you by FEMA and the Ad Council. Tuesday scheduled appointment right at 5 p.m. here to get trusted in sight from trusted insiders as we do here on the fan. Thanks to our friends at IT cadre where DC sports insiders share their exclusive perspective. Austin Echler via IT cadre on the hotline with us on Grant and Danny. Austin, it is great to talk to you again. How are you? I'm doing great. I'm doing great. Good to be back on, boys. How have we been? We were nervous. No, Austin Echler. We thought everything was going to come screeching to a halt. But the boys survived the week and Jeremy McNichols, you were right. He told us he could play. He'd be just fine. He went out and he bawled in the next man up league. It went very well. Yeah, man. I mean, look, look, we got a lot of playmakers on the offense. So, you know, yes, if I'm not there, you know, we lose one of the one of the, you know, players. But look, we got a lot more guys that are showing up and doing the thing. Obviously, Jayden's doing his thing. Terry looks good coming alive. I'd love to see that too and so on and so forth. So they took care of business and I'm glad to be back with them now. How are you feeling, buddy? And kind of what's the latest on on you working your way back? Yeah, you know, I'm just continuing to complete the processes of concussion protocol. You know, I'm working my way through. I'm feeling like myself. Hopefully you can tell a little bit, you know, more with it today than a last conversation. And so that's that's all a good sign to getting back as hopefully hopefully this week. That was the question. Do you think you're tracking toward the possibility of being able to play this weekend? Absolutely tracking towards being able to play. And so that's that's a good sign, you know, especially when you're talking about your head. Hey, you want to make sure everything is how it's supposed to be. It's not one of those like ankles where you can put some tape on it, you know, like this is my brain I'm talking about. So want to make sure that everything is feeling normal and it's, you know, reacting normal and is where it's supposed to be. And things are definitely trending that direction sounds very good. Austin Echler here on Grant and Danny Weekly appointment with us will be with us all season long Tuesdays at five o'clock on the fan. What was it like watching from home? Oh man, I have so much anxiety when I'm not there, man. Oh, I feel like I'm a fan, you know, where it's like, you don't want him to do so well, but you're just so, you know, helpless. Like you can't can't do anything, you know, I could just send your screaming at the, at the, you know, the screen with my wife. Every basically every commercial I'd make us get up and do some stretches. Gotta stay up my ass. Keep moving. Let's keep moving just to blow off some steam and then come back to it. But obviously as they started to get a lead, it definitely helped me kind of come to a little relaxation a little bit from the couch at home. So that was my view and experience. Do you pick up stuff when you're, you know, totally, as you said, removed from it, watching just like schlubs like Grant and I? Like, do you see something where you go, oh, I can't wait to do that when it comes to, you know, when I'm back in action. Do you pick up stuff from watching the TV copy or is it, you know, it's all all hat? I definitely pick up stuff, but it's not like, not necessarily like that. But like, I know what the plays are, right? Like, I'm seeing different signals. Like I hear Jaden talking when they like show the, the audio from the field. And so I know like, I have like the ultimate insight of knowing what's going on because I, I'm just part of the ecosystem, obviously. So that's kind of cool to know what's coming. Like, I'm telling, I'm like, oh, this is past right here. It's the past. Like, as if you even care, I'm still telling her, you know, it's going to be run to the right, you know, like things like that. So it's pretty cool to have that knowledge, not going to be at the sideline, but I guess I can still be in tune that way. What was the most important part of that game? I always think of some of the old coaches and cliches about, you know, you're going to play every play like it's your last play. We play hard because you never know when the key plays going to happen. From your perspective, what was the most important part of that game that led Washington to eventually run away with it? Yeah, I think it was a collective of small things. And it was really, I think, the lack of mistakes, like the ball was getting to places. Guys were in the right spots on the right timing. Obviously, that comes down to play calling as well. And so making sure that, hey, we don't have to force anything. I know Jaden through a pick kind of, you know, had Terry there, but it just seemed like it just carried away on him. But other than that, it was like really good, solid, fundamental football. And you were basically able to just chip your weight. It wasn't a ton of huge plays, but really just, you know, tipping your way down the field, staying on, converting on third downs, you know, running the ball, good mix of run, pass, Jaden moving with his feet as well. Like all of these small little things that don't seem very tough, but are tough at the NFL to stay consistent with that we're really connecting with our team. And multiple players, you know, not just a few, but really all over the place. And so really good team dominant win. Going back and watching what you guys are doing, it's so amazing and complicated and fun in the running game. Just the different ways that Kingsbury setting things up, like on the opening drive, which was a lot of no huddle, four runs that are all different conceptual plays at a different formations, essentially. I'm wondering from a personnel standpoint, like running on and off the field or just getting aligned. Is this any more complicated than offenses you've run in the past? Because that's not necessarily normal that you'd have like different formation families and then different concepts on four straight runs like that. Oh yeah, you know, I think what Cliff does a good job of that I've never done anywhere else. I mean, we have so many walkthroughs that we have so many times to practice being in different positions. Hey, this is your, this is your details on this route and you're going to probably do that in a walkthrough probably 15 times a week. And that's including practice as well. And so you have a lot of practice being in different spots. You get comfortable. Okay, this is my responsibility, even though, you know, I thought I'll be right playing quarterback, you know, either RB direct snap. Or if I'm chipping on the edge or I'm out wide or I'm doing a motion like we get really comfortable in running these plays that we have drawn up for the week, which allows us to go out there and play fast. And so now to the viewers, like, oh, look, they're all over the place. But for us, it's just, we're running that one specific play that I've already wrapped 30 times this week. You know, Austin Eckler with this here on GND. So Austin, as you work your way back, this is, you know, obviously, you're not a fellow player. You're cut differently than than than most folks. But like if I like stub my toe, I'm ginger about it for like days at a time and like, I'm afraid to put weight on it. You've got to go out and get in a bunch of car wrecks, you know, this, this common Sunday against a bunch of guys that want to knock your head off. What's sort of that first thing where you are maybe tentative about coming back and then you go, okay, I'm good to go. What's that first marker where you're like, yep, I'm me again. I'm ready to rock. I think, you know, during practice, you know, we try not to hit each other as much as we can. You don't want to save our bodies for the game just because it is so intense. And so you don't really get that full contact hit and practice. And so that's what I would say is that gets me ready to go. Is that full contact hit like that first pop in a game? And that's really if I'm injured or if I'm not injured coming back like that first hit, you know, is that kind of like a wake up? Like it almost like Joel's more adrenaline through your body. And I feel like you kind of like come alive in a sense that like you feel rejuvenated in a kind of weird, twisted way. Like your body's neck now alert to go and, you know, have more car wrecks basically. So that's what I would say. That's what I would say. Austin Eckler did tell us a couple of weeks back that he's happy to take questions from you guys on the phone so we can open up the phones for some questions today. We'll get a couple on the back end of the conversation here at 800-636-1067. Let Austin touch the people a little bit 800-636-1067. You want to talk with one of Washington's best offensive players through the first quarter of their season on Grant and Danny. Are you aware? It seems like maybe because you stayed back and you've been around the area here the last few days, maybe you would have picked up on it. But the three straight wins is one thing to get people excited. I mean, you got to go back to 91, the last Super Bowl year to find the last time this team in back-to-back weeks has done what it has offensively. People are really starting to get excited. Are you feeling that? Is that tangible within the building at all? Yeah, man. It seems like this community has definitely gone through some tough times. And so it really feels good to be a part of giving you guys some early success because I'm seeing people making videos about, "Girl, man, I'm about to start tearing up and talking about, man, we're back." People in the comments are like, "It finally feels like it's not just like a spur of the moment that we actually have a team." And so it's really cool to be a part of the new era and the new feel of what we're doing here with Dan Quinn and our new ownership and the rest of this team. And so it's been awesome, man. It's been awesome to see revitalizing the community more to come because that's what we're about. You heard Dan Quinn. I heard him before. I jumped on this. The quote he was saying is like, "We are in relentless pursuit to continue to be the best that we can." So the best is yet to come. We're just getting started and more is on the way. Along those lines, too, home game after a couple straight on the road, first time you guys have played at home since the Giants home opener when you broke a kick return for a touchdown that got called back to open the home slate. But a lot of us that have been around for a while are just kind of curious to see what it looks like. I've heard from so many fans this week that are going to their first game at the stadium in 10 years that didn't want to give Dan Snyder money or weren't happy about the name changer for it. For whatever reason, I've stopped going to games and all of a sudden, maybe they're opting back in. What are you guys anticipating in terms of a home advantage maybe this weekend? Yeah, absolutely. I'm not going to lie, the first game, too. I mean, we were popping in there. It was loud. I don't know if it was because we had some good energy and we were beating a division rival and going back and forth, but it was definitely appreciative of that crowd that was there. But I'm expecting this one to be just as good. It's not better for sure now that we're getting some momentum going. In sports, it's an emotional roller coaster for the fans. When the time is right and things are going well, you definitely are going to pull people out of places where they've been hiding for a while because they haven't been excited or for whatever reason, like you were talking about. They didn't want to go and support. I think we're opening some new doors and we're getting people excited about something, so guess what? You're going to get more input. I'm expecting that place to be rocking. I'm looking forward. When it comes to making plans, you are the best. What about those round trips, which are perfect on your way there and perfect on your way back? Or those meetings with friends, surprise parties, camps, birthdays. The same way you plan for the important moments, start planning to protect you and your loved ones from a natural disaster. Sign up for local weather and emergency alerts, prepare an emergency kit, and make a family communications plan. Get started at ready.gov/plan. Brought to you by FEMA and the Ad Council. What's happening now is so much fun. It's so awesome and you're an integral ingredient to it, changing this culture, changing the perception and changing the way everybody locally and around the league views Washington. My question is, before you came here, how were you of that same perception that wasn't very positive? This wasn't a destination. This wasn't a place where feelings were very good. How cognizant of that were you and how important was it to you to say we're going to go change that? Look, I had no idea. I had no idea. I kind of learned about the culture from guys that were here before me. And basically everything I said was like, "Look, I don't care what the hell was going on here before I got here because this is now and this is new and we got a whole new team, whole new staff, whole new players, whole new ownership." And we're a whole new face at this point. So whatever you all did in the past, that's all gone. Most of those players are gone too, right? So this is a whole new refresh start. I've been a part of teams that we had a lot of talent and didn't come out and there's expectations or an end in the opposite where, "Hey, you don't know what's going to happen and you actually end up being a solid team making a run." And so coming into this new culture was pretty awesome actually to be a part of a lot of new things because we're all learning together. We have high expectations for ourselves, but really don't know how it's going to play out because we haven't played with each other yet. And so now to see all of this new stuff coming together, getting in a rhythm, right, a culture being set. And I've said this over and over and over again. If I wanted to be a head coach, I'd want to be like Dan Quang because I just love what he's about, all about that culture, all about the brotherhood. It makes it super inviting place to play and not only that, but a competitive place and a place that you really are hungry to continue to get better for the guy next to you. And so when you put all those pieces together, man, it's a combination for good things. It doesn't guarantee wins, but it's definitely going to help. Did you have a favorite play in terms of design, execution, call, how it looked? Just watching the game at home like the rest of us that stands out to you looking back at the 42 points? I actually wanted to say this. Make sure you watch our kickoff team. Our kickoff team is freaking relentless. Oh, my God, I would not want to go against our kickoff team. Those guys, you're talking about coverage, right? I'm talking about kickoff coverage. Our cover team, there's some dogs out there, man. They are going to hunt. They're going to eat, and they're doing just that, man, because it is straight carnage. That's something that doesn't get a lot of love, but definitely watch our kickoff team. That's my curveball for y'all, but it's fun to watch because the guys are crazy. It was a little barisito breaking ball. My buddy sitting next to me. I think it was Senate. Somebody had a huge hit. Big tackle. The whole sideline went crazy on a kickoff coverage play. And he's like, oh, yeah, am I wrong? Or do we always destroy people on kickoff returns? He's really wild to watch. I feel bad for their returner because they do not know what to put to happen, or they do, and they can't stop it. Wow. So far, it sounds like you are a big fan of the new kick return. I don't know why anyone wouldn't be. We're getting more returns. It seems like it's fun. It's opened up a little bit. I mean, you should be a big fan. League in the league and kick return. You've ripped off like a couple. Yeah. It's supposed to be safer, right? It's supposed to take some of the bigger collisions. For the frontline guys, those are where less big collisions are happening, I guess. But for the returner, it's still full bore. We're getting messed up. If the guy gets beat up front, you don't make someone miss. Still football, still dangerous play. Still has some of that factor of a traditional kickoff. It's just different. But when you change anything, it takes a while for people to get used to it. So I think this is what we're experiencing right now with the new kickoff rules. So earlier in the show, we were taking calls just a bit ago, trying to find a nickname for this offense, right? A great show on turf for the Rams. You guys don't punt. You need your best offense in the league right now. You need a nickname. So here are some that we came up with. We wanted to bounce off of you, and you tell us if you like any of these. Alright, let's see it. Alright, we got the thrill on the hill, homage to Capitol Hill in DC. Ooh, okay. Thump and dump, which sounds inappropriate, but it's about the offense. Thump and dump. Wait, something dump? No, thump and dump. Oh, thump and dump. Okay, okay. Yeah, we've got East Coast offense juxtaposed with West Coast offense. Okay. Run DMV. Run DMV. And then DNC or. Yeah, exactly. And then Danny, you had the no punt offense, AK the NPO. Like playing off the RPO, except it's an NPO. I think the first one was definitely the best option. What was that one again? Thrill on the hill. Thrill on the hill is good. That's good. So just so you know, on the polling, run DMV is running away running away with it, like 71% of votes. I was going to say that, but I just didn't know if people would, you know, know the reference or be a fan or yeah. So I thought the thrill on the hill was a little bit more balanced of a name, but I could definitely see the run DMV for sure. Yeah, all the old people, my age, you're going, I remember them, that one and they're clicking on it. So Cliff Kingsbury's had great offenses over over the years, right? He's, you know, pelts on the wall. Offends have been good. He's never been known for like having an exceptional rush offense. It's been good, but I think by some quarterbacks, they're athletic. I was thinking about this this morning. I think we're underrating having Anthony Lynn on this staff as the run game coordinator. I know you played for him, you know, earlier on in your career. I feel like he's instrumental in kind of helping you guys make this run game balanced, sophisticated, powerful and explosive. Yeah, absolutely. I mean, there's two sides to, you know, making the run game work. Well, really three, right? Having a great pass game absolutely helps. Having the offensive line and receivers that are willing to and able to, you know, actually convert the run that we're trying to make work work and then, you know, having the running back self to do it as well. So from the physical side, we need to have those, which I'm loving the pieces that we brought in the team that we put together because we've definitely been meshing well. And then you got bringing, you know, Coach Lynn and he's either guru. And when it comes to the running game, he's been, you know, really a specialty or specialist of that for the last 20 years and bringing him in and helping him get away. He's really good at what I really like about Coach Lynn is he puts specific players and people in the right space to do certain things that they're best at. Hey, what are we best at? Hey, we, against this team, you know, we are strong going to the right or we're strong with Austin, you know, inside zone this game. And he's really thinking about the details of, Hey, what are the probabilities based off of the players that we have and the capabilities that we have in our matchup that we're going to face. And so that's what he lives, breathes and sleeps. And so, yeah, matching that with Cliff and what he's been doing with Jayden as well. It's been, it's been a matchmaking heaven for both sides. Austin Echler on Grant and Danny. All right, let's bring in Dante who's in Waldorf wants to say hi to Austin. Dante, what's up? Hey, how you doing? Hey, awesome. Hey, God speak to you, man. First thing, what's the vibe like NBC right now? I mean, sorry, on locker room right now. Ooh, good question. So everyone just got back yesterday, man. And, you know, winning solves a lot of the culture and the, I would say the, the, feeling of, you know, the drag of the season. And so when you're winning, you're on a run. Like people are bouncing into the, you know, the locker room like smiles on faces. Like there's a, there's a sense of confidence. There's a sense of, Hey, we have a mission. We got to keep going. Like, we got to keep the pedal down. We have an expectation that is even higher now because of how we started. So I would say as far as vibes go, we're in a good zone. You don't want to ever get too high, too low, but we're in a zone where, Hey, we want to maintain this and keep building on what we have. Let's go to Chris who's in Brandywine wants to hop in with Austin Echler on Grant and Danny's with us every Tuesday at 5 p.m. Given us trusted insight. He is our insider presented by IT cadre where DC sports insiders share their exclusive perspective. What's up, Chris? How are you? Hey, thanks. Don't rail. Thanks. Take my car. I'm a Prince George County teacher and looking forward to have my school apply for Austin's program that he has a nonprofit program. But my, my question for him today is you've been apart as a veteran. You've been a part of many different teams and with San Diego or LA. And is it how is the energy or vibe compared to what you're experiencing now? Do you feel like there's something special going on here? Do you think it runs the course or how do you feel about your experience so far? Yeah, I appreciate that, Chris. And yes, we can get, you know, a weight room or some resources over to the school. Definitely hit up the, hit up our. Can I ask before you answer the question? Because I honest, you've told us so much about your ventures, you know, with the app and different things you're doing. What's the, what is he referencing? I'm not familiar. Yeah, so I have the Austin Network Foundation where we put resources back into communities that are in need. And so, obviously, that's very vast. But we've done things like washers and dryers, you know, schooling supplies. Our main, our main avenue is weight rooms for high schools or just schools in general. That's fantastic. There's a bunch of different resources that we've been putting back into the community that and looking to get more into the, to the DC area, the DMV area here. So that's what he's dressed to be there. That's awesome. And then specific to like the vibes with this team compared to the past, does it feel similar or unique? Yeah, I think the vibes of the team is something that can be established early on, but the season 100% effects that because there's so much. For steak when you're playing in the season, right? Like wins, losses, how the team's doing, how individuals are doing, how the leadership is doing. All of that has a little piece that's going to affect how the feeling of the team is on a personal level as well. You know, if you're winning, you know, it definitely helps for losing a dozen, right? It plays a lot, a lot of your mental trying to figure out, you know, a method to go forward. And so wherever I right now, what I think is really good as far as like coaching from Dan Quinn is, you never want to get too high where you're like, hey, we're, we're the best thing ever on turf, you know, like you guys make nicknames for us and all this stuff. It's like, that's great. We'll let you guys have that fun. We got to still locking on the mission. And that's continued to win games, continue to go because the job's not done. We only play four games. Like everyone's excited. That's great. You know, you guys be excited for us. We're excited too, but we guess what we still got work to do. And so as far as what I've been around, if that's where we're at right now, it's still in that mode of, hey, let's continue to lock in. We can be excited. You know, after, you know, we get our job done at the end of the season, but right now it's, it's continued to, yep, take the, take the compliments. You know, take them as they are, but also understand that, hey, we still got a job to do and they can flip in an instant. And so don't, don't get too high. Don't get too low. You guys stay medium. We're going to do the go crazy thing at three and one. We can be irresponsible. We've been waiting for three and one. Hey, Austin. We got to focus on winning games so you guys can keep going crazy. Well, awesome avenue on the show, man. As always, glad you're feeling better and looking forward to seeing you on the field on Sunday. Thanks for the time. Thank you. Thank you. I appreciate the fans for the questions too. Thank you guys. Yeah, definitely. Thank you as we go forward. That's Austin Echler on Grant and Danny. Always tremendous. We're looking forward to that segment all football season long. It is presented by IT cadre. They're trusted insight helps leaders of the nation's most important organizations understand complexity, align efforts and make the best data driven decisions to achieve success. IT cadre, your vision, our purpose. When it comes to making plans, you are the best. What about those round trips which are perfect on your way there and perfect on your way back? Or those meetings with friends, surprise parties, camps, birthdays. The same way you plan for the important moments. Start planning to protect you and your loved ones from a natural disaster. Sign up for local weather and emergency alerts. Prepare an emergency kit and make a family communications plan. Get started at ready.gov/plan. Brought to you by FEMA and the Ad Council.